Re:Gender works to end gender inequity by exposing root causes and advancing research-informed action. Working with multiple sectors and disciplines, we are shaping a world that demands fairness across difference.

Poverty

Women are more likely to be poor than men, both in the United States and across the globe. Female-headed households are more liable to live in poverty. Families headed by single women in the US are more than twice as likely as other families to be poor. The poverty divide is even more dramatic for people of color: in the US, African-American (26.5 percent) and Latina women (23.6 percent) register much higher poverty rates than white women (11.6 percent). Evidence-based, research-driven policies and programs that recognize the diverse realities of poverty and attack its root causes are critical for producing change.

A new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute shows that following a considerable decline between 1981 and 1994, the overall U.S. unintended pregnancy rate has remained essentially flat—about 5% of U.S. women have an unintended pregnancy every year. However, the rate has increased dramatically among poor women, while among higher-income women it has continued to decrease substantially, according to “Unintended Pregnancy in the United States: Incidence and Disparities, 2006,” by Lawrence B. Finerand Mia R. Zolna.

A new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute shows that following a considerable decline between 1981 and 1994, the overall U.S. unintended pregnancy rate has remained essentially flat—about 5% of U.S. women have an unintended pregnancy every year. However, the rate has increased dramatically among poor women, while among higher-income women it has continued to decrease substantially, according to “Unintended Pregnancy in the United States: Incidence and Disparities, 2006,” by Lawrence B. Finerand Mia R. Zolna.

In 1994, the unintended pregnancy rate among women with incomes below the federal poverty line was 88 per 1,000 women aged 15–44; it increased to 120 in 2001 and 132 in 2006—a 50% rise over the period. At the same time, the rate among higher-income women (those with incomes at or above 200% of the poverty line) fell from 34 in 1994 to 28 in 2001 and 24 in 2006—a 29% decrease. Poor women’s high rate of unintended pregnancy results in their also having high—and increasing—rates of both abortions (52 per 1,000) and unplanned births (66 per 1,000). In 2006, poor women had an unintended pregnancy rate five times that of higher-income women, and an unintended birth rate six times as high.

Analyzing U.S. government data from the National Survey of Family Growth and other sources, Finer and Zolna found that of the 6.7 million pregnancies in 2006, nearly half (49%) were unintended. Although some unintended pregnancies are accepted or even welcomed, more than four in ten (43%) end in abortion. Unintended pregnancy rates are elevated not only among poor and low-income women, but also among women aged 18–24, cohabiting women and minority women. It is important to note, however, that poor women have high unintended pregnancy rates nearly across the board, regardless of their education, race and ethnicity, marital status or age.

In contrast to the high rates among certain groups, some women in the United States are having considerable success timing and spacing their pregnancies. Higher-income women, white women, college graduates and married women have relatively low unintended pregnancy rates (as low as 17 per 1,000 among higher-income white women—one-third the national rate of 52 per 1,000), suggesting that women who have better access to reproductive health services, have achieved their educational goals or are in relationships that support a desired pregnancy are more likely than other women to achieve planned pregnancies and avoid those they do not want.

A report put out by the National Marriage Project and the Institute for American Values, groups whose missions include strengthening marriage and family life, says that research shows the children of cohabiting parents are at risk for a broad range of problems, from trouble in school to psychological stress, physical abuse and poverty. It suggests a shift in focus is needed away from the children of divorce, which has long been a preoccupying concern for such scholars.

Editorial:

From the article:

As more and more U.S. couples decide to have children without first getting married, a group of 18 family scholars is sounding an alarm about the impact this may have on those children.

In a new report out on Tuesday, they say research shows the children of cohabiting parents are at risk for a broad range of problems, from trouble in school to psychological stress, physical abuse and poverty.

The study is put out by the National Marriage Project and the Institute for American Values, groups whose missions include strengthening marriage and family life. It suggests a shift in focus is needed away from the children of divorce, which has long been a preoccupying concern for such scholars.

Brad Wilcox, a report co-author and head of the National Marriage Project, says divorce rates have steadily dropped since their peak in 1979-80, while rates of out-of-wedlock childbearing have soared. Forty-one percent of all births are now to unwed mothers, many of them living with — but not married to — the child's father.

The fight for equal opportunity for women in the workplace must move beyond the narrow focus on company boards and extend to creating better jobs for women in blue collar industries, according to a report released by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. The 'Breaking the perspex ceiling' report says that in manufacturing and engineering industries, women workers are concentrated in low-pay, low-skill jobs and are underrepresented in the ranks of skilled tradespeople.

Editorial:

From the AMWU news release:

The fight for equal opportunity for women in the workplace must move beyond the narrow focus on company boards and extend to creating better jobs for women in blue collar industries, according to a report released by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union today.

The 'Breaking the perspex ceiling' report says that in manufacturing and engineering industries, women workers are concentrated in low-pay, low-skill jobs and are underrepresented in the ranks of skilled tradespeople.

A survey of AMWU women members in NSW found:

- 74% have never been promoted to a more senior or higher paying role - 74% see no opportunity for a promotion in the next five years - 63% say they don't receive workplace training - 44% are the main income earner in their family and - 35% struggle to meet weekly bills...

A firm believer in the power and potential of all girls and young women, Jeannette Pai-Espinosa assumed leadership of The National Crittenton Foundation in January of 2007. Jeannette brings to the 129-year-old institution more than 30 years of experience in strategic communication, advocacy, education, intercultural communication, public policy, strategic communication, program development, public will building, community engagement and direct service delivery. Today she leads The Foundation in providing capacity building, strategic partnership development, national advocacy and communication support to the 26 members of the Crittenton family of agencies providing services in 31 states and the District of Columbia.

As an ever-growing proportion of state budgets and the second biggest state expenditure after education, Medicaid presents itself as an easy target when budget cuts are imminent. Wider Opportunities for Women’s recent webinar on June 30th, “Budget Battles: Threats to Medicaid,” summarized the threats posed to Medicaid with presentations from Angela Shubert and Jen Beeson from Families USA, Renata Pore from the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, and Andy McDonald of BerlinRosen Public Affairs. The webinar discussion delved into how advocates can shift the perception of Medicaid among politicians and the public by reframing the conversation surrounding the Medicaid program.

Cutting the Social Security COLA by Changing the Way Inflation is Calculated Would Especially Hurt Womenshows that women will be hit hardest by changing the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment from the CPI-W to the “chained CPI”. This proposed change delivers a triple whammy to women. Since women live longer than men, they face deeper cuts in their Social Security benefits under the chained CPI because the cuts get larger each year. Women rely more on income from Social Security than do men, so these cuts would represent a greater share of their total retirement income. And since older women are already more economically vulnerable than older men, these cuts will leave more of them unable to meet basic needs.

Editorial:

Cutting the Social Security COLA by Changing the Way Inflation is Calculated Would Especially Hurt Womenshows that women will be hit hardest by changing the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment from the CPI-W to the “chained CPI”. This proposed change delivers a triple whammy to women. Since women live longer than men, they face deeper cuts in their Social Security benefits under the chained CPI because the cuts get larger each year. Women rely more on income from Social Security than do men, so these cuts would represent a greater share of their total retirement income. And since older women are already more economically vulnerable than older men, these cuts will leave more of them unable to meet basic needs.

At the June 22nd brown bag lunch, “Changing Workplace Scheduling as an Anti-Poverty Strategy,” sponsored by Half in Ten and the Women of Color Policy Network at NYU Wagner, presenter Joan Williams discussed how erratic workplace scheduling policies prevent many low-income parents from maintaining regular employment. She believes that anti-poverty policies that focus entirely on workforce readiness may be misplaced; instead, the problem rests with the employers and companies who use outdated workplace scheduling practices that make it impossible for low-income workers to be both an ideal worker and a responsible parent.

The global economic recession of 2008–2009 has been followed by a decline in fertility rates in Europe and the United States, bringing to an end the first concerted rise in fertility rates in the developed world since the 1960s, according to research published today. Among the reasons for the trends: Highly educated women are reacting to employment uncertainty by adopting a ‘postponement strategy,’ especially if they are childless. In contrast, less-educated women often maintain or increase their fertility under economic uncertainty. However, men with low education and low skills face increasing difficulty in finding a partner or in supporting their family and often show the largest decline in first child birth rates.

Editorial:

From the press release:

The global economic recession of 2008–2009 has been followed by a decline in fertility rates in Europe and the United States, bringing to an end the first concerted rise in fertility rates in the developed world since the 1960s, according to research published today.

”A new study by scientists from the Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (VID) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) identify that economic recessions tend to be followed by a decline in fertility rates - and also identify how specific groups of people are influenced by a recession.”

The 2008–2009 global economic recession, the first major recession since that caused by the oil shocks of the 1970s, brought a sudden trend reversal to the previous pattern of rising fertility rates in several highly developed countries, including Spain and the United States. A larger group of countries including England and Wales, Ireland, Italy, and Ukraine experienced stagnation of fertility rates, following a decade of generally rising fertility after 1998.

The study found that individual reactions to the recession vary by sex, age, number of children, education level, and migrant status.

“Highly educated women react to employment uncertainty by adopting a ‘postponement strategy,’ especially if they are childless. In contrast, less-educated women often maintain or increase their fertility under economic uncertainty.”

The patterns differ for men—those with low education and low skills face increasing difficulty in finding a partner or in supporting their family and often show the largest decline in first child birth rates.

The recent global economic recession has brought to an end the first concerted rise in fertility rates across the developed world since the 1960s. Of the 27 countries of the European Union, fertility rates increased in 26 countries in 2008 (with stagnation in Luxembourg). In 2009 as many as 13 countries saw their fertility rates decline and another four countries experienced stable fertility rates. A rise in unemployment and employment uncertainty was a key factor behind this trend. In many developed countries cuts in social spending driven by the need to address ballooning budget deficits may prolong the fertility impact of the recent recession well beyond its end.

The study focuses on the most developed countries (including Eastern and Southeastern Europe) which were hardest hit by the recession. Limited attention is paid to less developed countries where the effects of the recession may differ.

The study by Tomáš Sobotka and Dimiter Philipov from the Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Vegard Skirbekk from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis is published in the latest issue of Population and Development Review.

Reference: Economic recession and fertility in the developed world. Population and Development Review (Vol. 37, No. 2) June 27, 2011

This article reviews research on the effects of economic recessions on fertility in the developed world. We study how economic downturns, as measured by various indicators, especially by declining GDP levels, falling consumer confdence, and rising unemployment, were found to affect fertility. We also discuss particular mechanisms through which the recession may have influenced fertility behavior, including the effects of economic uncertainty, falling income, changes in the housing market, and rising enrollment in higher education, and also factors that influence fertility indirectly such as declining marriage rates. Most studies find that fertility tends to be pro-cyclical and often rises and declines with the ups and downs of the business cycle. Usually, these aggregate effects are relatively small (typically, a few percentage points) and of short durations; in addition they often influence especially the timing of childbearing and in most cases do not leave an imprint on cohort fertility levels. Therefore, major long-term fertility shifts often continue seemingly uninterrupted during the recession—including the fertility declines before and during the Great Depression of the 1930s and before and during the oil shock crises of the 1970s. Changes in the opportunity costs of childbearing and fertility behavior during economic downturn vary by sex, age, social status, and number of children; childless young adults are usually most affected. Furthermore, various policies and institutions may modify or even reverse the relationship between recessions and fertility. The first evidence pertaining to the recent recession falls in line with these findings. In most countries, the recession has brought a decline in the number of births and fertility rates, often marking a sharp halt to the previous decade of rising fertility rates.

This reportexplains why the principle that any deficit reduction plan must protect programs for low-income people and not increase poverty is critical for women and their families. It provides specific information about the importance of programs such as Medicaid, child care assistance, Head Start, SNAP, WIC, TANF, SSI, Pell grants, rental assistance, LIHEAP, and many others to protect women’s health, provide supports for children, improve nutrition, maintain income and work supports, expand educational opportunities, and make housing more affordable.